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Mits

Should I get a CO2 scrubber?

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8 Comments
by
Mits
, 01-06-2010 at 08:50 PM (1800 Views)
I've been having issues with low ph for as long as I've had my tank, even possibly contributing to my sps losing color and sometimes dying. My calcium was super high, but my low ph caused my alk to be low and nothing would grow. I ran the test where I aerated some tank water with outside air for over an hour and my ph raised from 7.8 to 8.2. Now that I'm dosing kalk my sps are starting to color up again, but I almost never get a ph reading over 7.8. Would you worry about your parameters if it never goes over that mark? The CO2 scrubber is a device that you attach to the air intake of your skimmer that absorbs the CO2 out before it gets to the skimmer, supposedly raising your ph until the media needs to be replaced. Here is the page on Premium Aquatics:

http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merch...&Category_Code=

What do you guys think? Worth it? I was also considering running a line of tubing from my skimmer's air intake straight into the wall and up into the attic, which is filled with outside air. I'm a little afraid of the extreme temps in winter and summer affecting the tank.

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Updated 01-12-2010 at 12:59 PM by melev

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Comments

  1. BetterMetalReef's Avatar
    I would say having the air intake from an outside source (like your attic) would be a much more effective and cheaper option, IMO. Not only would you have to buy the scrubber, but also either new adsorbant or recharge the used adsorbant, which all sounds kinda expensive when compared to the price of tubing. Just make sure your air source is ok (IE, not pulling on car exhaust from your garage or road). I wouldn't think that the difference in air temps from the attic would make the huge of a difference. What size tank / skimmer do you have?
  2. melev's Avatar
    I'd try the fresh air approach first. I saw those CO2 scrubbers at MACNA this year, and thought it might be useful to some people. That being said, I didn't buy one myself. I wonder how long the media will last, which would depend on each tank's environment. A more humid one would probably burn up the media more quickly than a dry one.
  3. Plantguy's Avatar
    The other thing that dictates the amount of time it works is how much air your skimmer pulls. Ive heard they last over a month on most smaller skimmers, On a Alpha 200, the one I saw lasted about a week. But the difference is VERY noticeable, pH went from 8.1 to 8.4 in a day on the test tank.
  4. doomicon's Avatar
    Mits, I had a similiar PH issue with my first 27G (about 5 or so years ago). PH would just hover around 7.8. After a couple of weeks of frustration, I tried just opening a window when I would come home from work, and close before bed. After a couple of days, I tested and the PH hit 8.0 by just leaving a windows open for a bit.

    Found this article years ago.. really helped, and gave me the idea to open a window: http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issu...e2002/chem.htm
  5. Mits's Avatar
    It's a 55 gallon tank with an Octopus DNWB-110 skimmer. I'm leaning toward trying the attic and using the money I saved on some nice frags.
  6. Servo's Avatar
    Make sure you have a freshly calibrated pH probe. You're pH could be 8.4 for all you really know, while your STN problems may be all alk related. Low pH is an inhibitor for calcification, so if you are getting growth while adding kalk, I question your probe's accuracy. Good luck.
  7. Mits's Avatar
    I've just been using a test kit, not a probe. I actually bought a probe on Friday, but premium aquatics was out of SL1 and SL2 modules for the reefkeeper lite that I have. As soon as they get their shipment I'll hopefully have a reliable probe.
  8. Mits's Avatar
    Got my SL2 module and probe, and I ran a hose from the skimmer up to the attic. It seems to have worked. My ph goes between 7.99 and 8.12 throughout the day now.